This homestay in Himachal Pradesh’s Naggar is a safe space for women travellers

As a hustler, it’s a struggle to slow down and soak in the present moment. The distractions are plenty, and at the same time, the churn of a million different thoughts in our minds doesn’t help either. 

However, sometimes one finds themselves in a time warp–where living each moment and breathing its essence becomes paramount. This is exactly what we experienced during a visit to Seeking Slow farm stay near Naggar in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. 

The co-founder of the women-only homestay is Swati Seth, who is also the Founder and Creative Director of The Color Caravan—a slow clothing and textile brand rooted in indigenous crafts and communities. 

No wonder, it’s a safe space for women of all age groups who have been so absorbed in responsibilities that their own lives have taken a backseat. 

Every nook at Seeking Slow is a reminder that it isn’t too late. Typically, women travellers can be seen curling up and reading a book, admiring the mountainscapes, chatting away with fellow women exchanging their life experiences, or just basking in the love of the two resident dogs–Ollie and Chutki. 

For women, by women 

Eight years ago, Seth left city life and moved to the mountains. As someone who embraced slowness, she wanted to build a space where women could just unload their responsibilities and have a good time. 

“I want women travellers to come here and nourish their bodies and souls and just forget about all their worries. They can interact with other women and exchange stories that can inspire and empower each other,” she tells YS Life. 

However, the seeds of this dream were sown in 2021 when Seth offered a guest room to women in her previous home in Naggar. “Since there was only one washroom in the house, I wasn’t comfortable hosting men. That’s when I thought I would make it only for women travellers. Due to a lack of space, I could host only one traveller at a time,” she adds. 

During that hosting journey, she met women from different walks of life, which also made her realise about a glaring gap in the market—lack of spaces for women where they feel both physically and emotionally safe. 

“Most women opened up to me and it dawned upon me that so many of them were carrying baggage. While some women were frequent travellers, for many this was their first solo trip. Many of them admitted that they needed this break to get away from work and home, and that they could finally do it because they came across my space,” she says. 

It served as a huge motivation for Seth to scale it up so that she could host more than one woman. Thus, Seeking Slow was born in 2023 with the help of her partner, Richa Tandon, Founding Partner of Capital9, who is also Seth’s cousin sister-in-law. 

The homestay has five guest rooms and can accommodate 9-10 women travellers.  

Pause and reflect 

Over the last year, Seeking Slow has attracted women from cities across India who are looking to go on a holiday without a plan, minus the safety concerns. 

One of the women travellers, Prerna Thapa, a Marketing and Creative Solutions Manager at Google India, shares, “The Seeking Slow experience was unique, largely because it caters to women. From a booking point of view, I didn’t have to research much on safety or the kind of crowd that visits. I felt it was just what I was looking for, a moment to pause, guilt-free without having to explain myself to other guests.”

Another guest, Sachi, a corporate lawyer, agrees. “What truly set this experience apart were the endless, soulful conversations with Swati. These conversations left me feeling seen, heard, and understood. Her commitment to building sisterhood was evident, and her resilience and courage were truly awe-inspiring,” she adds.

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There are also others like Anusha Chauhan, a Delhi-based educationist, who decided to plunge into the world of solo travelling at the age of 52, at the insistence of a friend. While meeting inspiring women added an enriching layer to her experience, she also enjoyed the accommodation that spells comfort and tranquillity. 

“For someone like me who was seeking a respite from the madness of my work life, this idyllic retreat was an absolute gem,” she says. 

Immersive experiences 

While women travellers can choose to find what works for them and accordingly plan their days ahead, many want to stay put at the homestay, while others can enjoy walks in the neighbouring villages, hands-on workshops with artisans, or a meal with a local family, albeit a nominal fee. 

There’s also the opportunity to experience healing exercises in the forest. 

“Depending on the season, the landscape changes and so does the lifestyle. Seeking Slow is a great way to experience life in the lap of nature. You will find many guests painting, reading, or playing with my dogs. Some of them also head to Naggar town to enjoy coffee or desserts at cute cafés. There’s plenty else to do—from visiting ancient temples to making a stop at Roerich estate,” shares Seth. 

Food plays an integral role in the farm stay. From foraging to farm-to-table (or forest-to-table) or making of lugdi—a local rice beer, one can experience a lot at Seeking Slow. 

“I love cooking and feeding people, so I try to provide them with the best food experiences. I mostly do homestyle cooking and serve the food that I grew up eating in my hometown in Lucknow. There’s also a little bit of Pahari food, both from Himachal and Uttarakhand, as well as some Continental fare. I also enjoy all kinds of regional food,” she tells us. 

Depending on the season, whatever is growing on the farm is harvested and served to guests. Seth also organises paid pickling sessions for women travellers–post which they can take back the pickles they made! 

“Sometime during late spring and summer is when we have different kinds of edible mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns that grow in the wild. My landlord is an experienced forager and helps me with it,” she adds. 

The future 

Seth is always on the lookout to collaborate with like-minded facilitators on different kinds of healing workshops or immersive experiences around food, including fermentation, baking, or nutrition. Recently, Seeking Slow hosted a baithak-style performance, a private dastangoi, for a client. 

At the end of the day, it’s also her endeavour to empower as many local people as possible. Thus, one will find her buying foods like ghee, honey, vegetables and more from multiple vendors. She also attempts to support artisans not just with her venture, The Color Caravan, but also through guest visits via Seeking Slow.

While she is focusing on Seeking Slow at present, if all goes well in the future, she may want to build something similar in southern India with Tandon. 

Currently, Seth wants to include more immersive experiences for women at the homestay so that they can get out of their homes and think of planning a holiday for themselves, or with their friends and sisters. 

Tariff: Rs 2500 + taxes onwards (meal charges are additional)